Fastest code-breaking algorithm

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Shor’s quantum factoring algorithm is able to find the prime factors of a large number faster than any other method – this task is the key to cracking modern information-based security systems, particularly on the internet. The algorithm, named for MIT maths professor Peter Shor (USA), is so complex that it requires the quantum superposition and entanglement of quantum bits (or qubits) and so requires the use of a quantum computer.

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